Friday, 2 February 2007

Vauxhall's Tiny Tigra




Priced at...£13,995 - £16,145

The 89bhp 1.4 litre engine in the Tigra may be 3.0sec slower from 0 to 60mph, but on the road it feels every bit as lively as its 1.8 litre sister with 125bhp. The 1.3 litre diesel isn’t as quick as the 1.4 but it’s smooth and flexible and has good pulling strength.

Vauxhall has done a fine job of making the Tigra’s body rigid and resistant to shimmy on poor surfaces. It copes well with bumpy roads and has a supple ride in town. The handling is competent but does not provide the same fun factor as the Mini Convertible, and the Tigra’s steering is also low on feel.

With the roof stored away, the Tigra’s steeply raked windscreen directs most of the wind blast over its occupants heads to make even motorway journeys easily possible. Raise the roof and very little wind roar is audible, although some road noise does infiltrate. The engines keep themselves to themselves unless worked hard.

The clever roof and a decent drive should see the Tigra’s used values hold up well, much like its competitor, (the Peugeot 206 CC). This makes the Vauxhall a sound private buy, while the 1.4’s 16% company car tax banding makes it attractive to business users. The 1.3 diesel’s emissions put it in the 15% company car tax bracket.

Some metal roofed convertibles have had reliability problems with their electric folding mechanisms, it’s too early to tell if this will be true of the Tigra’s. The car borrows its chassis and engines from the Corsa range, and these have proven to be durable components. The interior appears more solid and better built than the Corsa’s.

For security the Tigra’s steel roof makes it much more resistant to thieves than its rivals with fabric roofs. Deadlocks are also fitted as standard, and the Tigra should keep most criminals at bay. Twin front and side airbags are included on the safety roster, as are anti lock brakes, but traction control is an option.

The Tigra is strictly a two seater, but it’s a very practical one thanks to a large boot that is not rendered useless when the roof is folded. Some boot space is lost with the roof lowered, but there’s still enough space for a couple of small cases, and there’s a generous shelf behind the seats.

Overall the Vauxhall Tigra has a quick and easy to use roof that still leaves a decent amount of luggage space, and it's well priced, easy to park and is good on fuel too.
The next blog will be called (Vauxhall Cars for 2007/8).

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